To meet the educational and academic needs of most students, school should suffice. Yet this is not the case in many Asian countries, and Singapore is no exception. Some parents insist that an A is not good enough and tuition is the logical means for their children to attain an A-star in the exams. I have provided tuition services to students over the last 3 decades, and it is crystal clear to me that the students who truly need the services of tutors are those struggling academically. This is because tuition is equal to extra academic support. Why would students who are already getting an A grade need extra academic support beyond the guidance of school teachers? In 2018, I taught the above and below 8 students. 6 of them failed Math at P5. At the PSLE, they achieved 1 A-star, 2As and 5Cs. It was a spectacular year. For 2021, I am focussing on Mathematics for students studying in Primary 4-6 and Secondary 1-2. In Singapore, these 5 levels of study can drastically affe...
In my life as a student, I have met only a few great teachers. Who is a great teacher to me? First of all, a great teacher need not be working as a teacher. A great teacher transforms some of his students positively and inspires many more to new and greater heights. He cannot but be passionate about teaching, and it is likely he is always in a permanent learning mode. A great teacher creates impact although he may sometimes steer off the syllabus. If you were to ask him why he steered off track, perhaps he would tell you that positive transformation is at the core of the curricula, and therefore, he has stayed true to the purpose of teaching and the curricula. Mr David Fahy, an Irishman in my secondary school, was more a lion than a school teacher. Much larger than most adult Asians, his size, voice and antics scared the hell out of my classmates. Thinking logically and being articulate in our thoughts was the path that led to a well of knowledge the lion protected. One not to shut his...
Portrait of Frederick Douglass The life of a slave is pitiful but Frederick Douglass, although a slave in the early years of his life, shows us that any person can become an inspiration to humanity; he also showed how important a role education plays to the freedom and empowerment of a human being. The turning point came in his life came when the new, kind wife of his owner saw him with a soft heart and taught him the English alphabet and how to spell very short words. This process carried on for a few days before the owner found out that his wife had been teaching a slave the written word. He stopped her from doing so and explained, “A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.” From that day onwards, his mistress changed from a loving lamb to a strict tigress; love and kindness for the slaves had left her heart. She stopped teaching Douglass and he observed, “Nothing seemed to make ...
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